I'-rsa; 


as# 


H 

Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1876, 

By  the  Campbell  Printing  Press  and  Manufacturing  Company, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 

Campbell  Press  Print , Centennial  Grounds , Philadelphia. 


H SEE ! Here  comes  Uncle  John,  with  Cousin  Katie  and 
Will!  They  have  been  to  Philadelphia,  to  see  some  kind 
of  a Show.  Pa  says  it  is  ever  so  big;  and  that  all  who  can 
get  money  to  take  them  will  go,  if  they  have  to  go  hungry 
all  the  rest  of  the  year.” 

“I’d  like  to  see  the  Show,”  said  Carrie;  “but  not  if  I had  to  lose 
my  dinner  — would  you,  Mary?” 

“Why,  Carrie,  I would  like  to  go  ever  so  much!  for  Mr.  Smith  says 
we  should  all  go,  if  we  had  to  live  on  bread  and  water  for  a whole 
year,  to  make  up  for  it.  You  know  he  lias  been  there,  to  put  up  his 
new  Cheese  Press  ; and  he  says  that  when  he  goes  into  the  house 

where  it  is,  he  is  afraid  he’ll  get  lost  among  the  posts  — there  are  so 

many  of  them.  And  then  all  around  is  just  machines  and  posts,  and 
his  Cheese  Press;  and  corn,  and  wheat,  and  rye,  and  oats,  and  his 
Cheese  Press ; and  ever  so  many  things  besides  his  Cheese  Press : and 
he  says  the  house  is  almost  as  big  as  his  farm ! 

“Oh  dear,  I can’t  tell  you  all  he  says!  I just  listen,  and  listen; 
and  if  Mother  would  let  me,  I would  stay  up  all  night  to  hear  him 

talk  about  it.  Uncle  John  has  gone  in  the  house  to  tell  Mother,  1 

suppose.  Now,  Carrie,  let  us  put  up  our  dolls  and  wagons ; and 
Benny,  you  tie  up  the  swing,  and  we’ll  go  in  and  hear  what  they  say. 

“ Oh,  but  won’t  that  be  nice ! I do  love  to  hear  Uncle  John  tell 
stories,  and  read  about  Fairies  and  Gypsies.  May  lie  he’ll  tell  us  a 
story  just  as  good  about  what  he  has  seen  at  the  Centennial.” 


2 Uncle  Johns  Centennial  Story. 

“ Uncle  John  ! Carrie,  Mary,  and  I have  come  in  to  have  yon  tell 
us  all  about  the  big  Show  at  Philadelphia.” 

“ Tell  you  all,  Benny ! Why,  I’m  too  old.  When  I had  told  you 
all,  I would  be  white-headed,  and  you  would  be  big  men  and  women! 
Oh  no!  you  can’t  coax  me  into  that.  Let  Katie  and  Will  tell  you 
what  they  saw.  That’ll  take  a long  time,  and  you’ll  be  tired  of  hear- 
ing about  it,  and  go  to  sleep  before  they  have  told  you  half  the  story.” 

“ Well,  then,  Willie,  you  tell  us ! We’ll  go  into  the  sitting  room, 
and  be  ever  so  still ! ” 

“I’m  afraid  to  try,”  said  Willie;  “let  Katie  tell  us.  She  saw  more 
than  I did.” 

“ Oh  no,  Willie ! I’ll  help  you,  if  you’ll  only  begin ; for  I don’t 
know  how.  There  was  no  place  to  begin  from,  because  there  were  so 
many  funny  little  gates  that  turned  around  to  let  one  go  in  at,  that  I 
couldn’t  tell  when  I was  in  or  out;  so  you  tell  them  how  we  lost  our 
dinner  the  first  day,  because  there  were  so  many  people  who  wanted  to 
get  something  to  eat,  that  they  pushed  us  out.  Katie  always  thinks  of 
her  dinner,”  said  Willie;  “but  I didn’t  mind  losing  mine,  and  forgot 
all  about  it  when  I got  where  I could  see  the  houses,  or  Main  Hall,  as 
they  call  it  there.  It  looks  just  like  a long  row  of  houses,  ornamented 
with  steeples,  as  you  will  see  by  the  picture  on  the  opposite  page. 

“ On  the  tops  of  the  steeples  are  gold  eagles ; and  there  are  ever  so 
many  of  them ! There  are  some  in  the  middle,  and  some  at  each  end 
— may  be  fifty,  or  more  — and  they’re  as  high  as  the  top  of  a church 
steeple.  And  then  there  are  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  little  flag-staffs, 
with  all-colored  flags.  Don’t  you  see  them  in  the  picture  ? Look ! all 
along  the  top,  the  sides  are  glass  and  wood.  Just  a little  piece  at  the 
bottom  is  made  tight  with  boards,  so  you  can’t  see  through ; and  then 
some  posts  are  fixed  up,  to  put  the  glass  in.  But  everything  is  glass 
and  doors  all  around  the  Hall,  as  they  call  it. 

“I  thought  it  was  a big  house,  when  l looked 'at  the  outside;  but 
when  I got  inside,  it  seemed  so  much  larger  that  1 was  almost  afraid 
to  move,  for  fear  I’d  get  lost.  1 stood  looking,  and  thinking,  and  look- 
ing; and  when  I turned  round,  Pa  was  gone!  and  sure  enough  1 was 
lost  in  the  same  room  where  Papa  and  Katie  were;  but  I thought  he 
would  find  me  pretty  soon,  and  so  1 would  just  go  along  down  a wide 
street  in  the  middle.  You  know  we  went  in  just  after  dinner.  Well, 
it  took  me  all  the  afternoon  to  get  back  to  where  Pa  lost  me  — and  I 


WESTERN  END  OF  MAIN  HALL. 


4 


Uncle  Johns  Centennial  Story. 

only  walked  down  to  the  other  end  of  the  Hall,  and  hack  again  — and 
there  l found  Pa  waiting  for  me.  I guess  he  had  been  lost  too,  only 
he  wouldn’t  tell.  I heard  a man  say  that  over  a thousand  men  in 
uniform  had  gone  in  just  after  us,  and  I only  saw  one;  and  Pa  said  he 
did’nt  see  any.  So  he  said  it  wouldn’t  be  surprising  if  I did  get  lost 
for  a little  while. 

“ I kept  thinking  all  the  time  that  Pd  soon  come  to  the  end  of  the 
little  shops;  but  it  was  nothing  but  shops  all  the  while.  It  looked  as 
if  the  fairies  had  gone  in  the  night  and  taken  down  almost  all  the 
houses  and  churches  in  New  York,  and  swept  up  every  bit  of  dirt,  and 
then  slid  all  the  things  up  close,  and  only  left  the  streets  as  wide  as  a 
man  could  step.  There  were  store  goods  of  every  kind  I’d  ever  seen,  and 
everything  of  every  kind  I ever  saw  in  any  house,  or  church,  or  store; 
and  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  things  I never  saw  before,  and  can’t  tell 
what  they’re  for.  I looked  around  in  the  Main  Hall,  and  all  the  time 
I saw  new  things,  and  went  through  new  walks. 

“ There  were  people  of  all  colors  there ! — some  white,  and  some  yel- 
low, like  brass;  and  some  like  copper,  almost;  and  some  like  coffee  — 
and  they  had  the  funniest  dresses!  Some  of  the  men  looked  as  if  they 
were  women.  They  were  from  all  over  the  whole  world,  and  talked  all 
kinds  of  languages.  Some  had  little  tables  with  their  things  on,  and 
some  had  glass-covered  boxes ; while  some  had  nice  places,  just  like 
real  houses.  I came  to  one  place  with  a high  front,  like  a great 
church,  and  I asked  wliat  it  was.  They  said  ‘ Spain.’  So  I thought  I’d 
go  in  and  see ; and  when  I got  in,  there  was  everything  there  that 
comes  from  Spain.  I couldn’t  tell  you  every  little  thing;  but  it  was 
full  of  all  kinds  of  things ; and  some  of  them  I should  dearly  like  to 
have  brought  home.  Just  look  at  the  picture  of  it  on  the  opposite  page, 
and  tell  me  if  you  don’t  think  it’s  pretty. 

“When  I got  out  of  Spain,  I went  to  Japan.  This  was  a funny 
house,  and  looked  just  like  the  pictures  you  see  in  the  books.  They 
had  ever  so  many  things  made  of  bamboo,  and  wood,  and  ivory,  and 
some  of  them  were  beautifully  painted.  They  called  it  lacquered  — we 
call  it  Japanned , because  the  Japanese  do  so  many  things  that  way. 

“Well,  when  1 came  out  of  Japan,  I looked  around,  and  saw  such 
a nice  house!  and  when  1 went  up  to  it,  I found  it  was  Norway.  It 
looked  like  a church  covered  all  over  with  little  steeples.  There  is  a 
picture  of  it  on  the  sixth  page. 

“It  had  all  kinds  of  things  in  it  that  are  found  in  that  country.” 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 


VIEW  OF  SPANISH  DIVISION  IN  MAIN  HALL 

Taken  from  a position  near  the  centre  of  the  Hall , looking  ivest.  In  the  distance  is  seen  the  Egyptian , Japanese , and  South  American  divisions. 


“ Now,  Willie,  you  have  told  all  about  Spain,  and  Japan,  and  Norway, 
and  everything,  and  never  let  Katie  tell  about  what  she  saw.  You 
think  you  are  all  eyes,  and  we  are  all  ears.” 

“Stop,  stop,  Carrie!  Katie  can  talk;  for  my  tongue  is  almost  worn 
out,”  said  Willie. 

“That’s  real  good  in  you,  Willie,  to  give  me  a chance  to  tell  them 
what  I saw,  because  you  went  by  my  place.” 

“Oh  yes!  so  1 did,  Katie.  Up  in  the  Tower,  where — ” 

“ Stop,  Willie.  Let  Katie  tell  us  that,  and  then  you  can  go  on ; for 
I could  sit  and  hear  you  talk  all  day.  It  ain’t  a bit  like  Mr.  Smith  ; 


8 


Uncle  Joints  Centennial  Story. 

all  around  us.  See ! lie  is  making  a picture  of  them  on  the  slate ; 
and  there,  on  the  opposite  page,  is  a Map  of  the  Centennial  Grounds.  ■ 

“ The  Entrance  Gate  is  marked  A ; and  B is  the  Railroad  Depot. 
G is  the  Main  Hall;  and  1)  the  Machinery  Hall.  E is  the  Judges’ 
Hall;  and  F the  Art  Gallery,  or  Memorial  Hall.  This,  and  G — which 
is  the  Horticultural  Hall  — will  be  left  to  stand  when  the  Fair  closes; 
but  all  the  rest  will  be  torn  down.  H is  the  Agricultural  Hall.  / is 
the  Ladies’  Pavilion.  J is  the  C.  T.  A.  U.  Fountain  of  America.  K is 
the  funny  Japanese  House.  L is  the  Government  Building.  M is  the 
Printing  Office  where  this  book  is  made,  and  where  the  most  wonderful 
Press  in  the  world  prints  and  folds  newspapers  faster  than  you  can  wink, 
and  where  thousands  of  curious  people  are  watching  it,  or  else  seeing 
how  all  sorts  of  books  and  papers  are  made,  from  beginning  to  end.  And 
then,  too,  if  you  will  look  at  the  little  square  places,  you  will  see  there 
are  ever  so  many  more  houses.  Then  there  are  lakes,  and  paths, 
and  fountains,  and  arbors,  and  the  funniest  little  Railroad  with  steam 
cars,  which  goes  where  the  lines  run  all  around,  carrying  the  people 
about  the  Grounds. 

“All  the  houses  that  I have  not  told  the  names  of  belong  to  differ- 
ent people.  Some  of  them  are  eating  houses,  and  some  are  little  facto- 
ries, and  others  belong  to  some  of  the  States,  so  they  can  show  how 
their  schools  are  kept,  and  what  grows  in  each  particular  State.  And 
then  there  are  Glass  Factories,  and  Saw-mills,  and  Gas-works,  and  I 
couldn’t  tell  you  all  what. 

“ This  is  a very  good  map  of  the  place,  and  we’ll  keep  it  to  look  at 
when  we  go  through  the  halls  and  houses,  to  keep  us  from  getting  lost, 
and  to  be  a help  to  us  when  we  tell  you  what  there  is  in  them,  and 
what  they  are  all  for,  and  to  help  us  find  out  all  about  the  great 
picture  Uncle  John  has  brought,  showing  the  whole  of  the  Grounds  as 
they  look  from  High  Bank,  east  of  the  Schuylkill  river. 

“On  looking  around  from  where  we  stood,  we  could  see  into  the 
great  city,  and  over  the  Park,  and  out  into  the  country.  There  was 
George’s  Hill,  and  the  Water  Basin,  which  holds  the  water  for  the 
people  who  live  in  the  city.  We  could  see  the  drives  and  Park  roads 
tilled  with  carriages,  and  the  nice  paths  all  tilled  with  people.  When 
we  had  looked  all  around,  we  came  down  again  to  the  floor  of  the 
Main  Hall,  and  passed  through  among  the  people,  until  we  came  out 
at  the  other  end  from  where  we  went  in. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Getty  Research  Institute 


https://archive.org/details/somethingforchilOOunse 


9 


Uncle  Joints  Centennial  Story. 

“ Pa  said  he  felt  as  if  he  had  made  a trip  around  the  world , because 
he  had  seen  and  gone  through  the  houses  of  so  many  countries.  He 
said  they  called  it  the  Main  Hall,  because  it  had  in  it  only  the  finished 
l /oods , made  to  show  how  much  better  everything  is  done  now  than  it 
was  a long  time  ago  — a hundred  years  or  more.  The  machines  which 
make  these  things  are  in  Machinery  Hall. 

“ Now  let  us  bid  good-bye  to  the  Main  Hall,  and  have  Willie  tell  us 
about  the  other  halls,  and  what  is  in  them.  We  are  now  out  of  doors 
once  more ; and,  before  we  go  any  further,  let  us  look  around,  and  see 
what  we  can  see. 

“Now  think  you  are  standing  with  me,  with  your  back  to  the  door, 
and,  looking  to  the  left  hand,  you  will  see  the  people  moving  in  and 
out.  This  is  one  of  the  Main  Entrances.  Those  little  houses  are  where 
the  Officers  and  Managers  stay  who  take  care  of  the  place,  and  keep  it 
in  order,  and  see  that  everything  is  done  right. 

“ Over  by  the  left  side  of  the  Machinery  Hall,  which  is  right  before 
us,  is  a large  house.  This  is  called  the  Shoe  and  Leather  Building.  In 
this  all  the  people  interested  in  making  shoes  will  show  what  they 
have  done.  It  is  a private  building. 

“The  house  just  in  front  of  us  is  Machinery  Hall.  In  there  are  al- 
most all  the  different  kinds  of  machines  that  are  made  in  the  world ; 
and  they  are  all  kept  running  round  and  round  by  a great  many  en- 
gines at  once. 

“ That  little  round  house  at  the  right  is  the  World’s  Ticket  Office. 
You  can  go  in  there  and  buy  a ticket  that  will  take  you  to  almost  any 
place  in  the  world. 

“ The  next  house  is  the  Judges’  Hall.  There  is  where  the  Judges 
will  meet  together,  to  say  who  has  made  the  best  things,  and  who  shall 
receive  the  greatest  reward  of  merit. 

“ That  little  house  without  windows  is  the  Photographic  Gallery  ; 
and  the  large  one  across  the  street  is  the  Government  Building.  In  this 
they  have  everything  that  belongs  to  War,  and  to  the  Government. 

“Now  I’ll  tell  you  first  about  the  Shoe  and  Leather  Building.  In 
this  they  show  how  leather  is  made ; and  when  they  have  got  it  done, 
they  make  shoes  and  boots  of  it  by  machines.  Here  are  all  the  work- 
men, sewing,  cutting,  pegging,  and  everything  by  machines,  even  to 
making  the  pegs,  and  thread,  and  nails.  All  the  people  have  to  do  is 
to  hold  the  shoe  while  the  machine  does  the  work.  They  had  raw  skins, 
just  as  they  come  off  of  the  cow,  or  calf,  or  goat;  and  they  had  piles 


10 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

of  bark  off  of  trees;  and  they  had  some  Sumach,  such  as  grows  in 
our  lane;  but  they  say  tlieir  Sumach  comes  from  Germany.  They  had 
all  these  things  to  show  how  leather  was  made.  This  was  out  in  their 
large  room ; but  in  the  small  rooms  they  had  beautiful  shoes  of  all 
kinds.  The  Shoe  and  Leather  Building  is  called  a small  house;  but  it 
is  as  large  as  a whole  square  of  houses  would  be,  if  they  were  all  made 
into  one  house. 

“When  1 get  done  telling  you  about  my  visit,  I will  cut  pieces  of 
paper  to  show  you  the  size  of  each  house.  The  smallest  size  I will 
call  the  size  of  our  house,  and  then  make  all  the  others  in  the  same 
way  — only  I will  make  each  one  just  as  much  larger  than  the  other 
as  the  next  larger  house  is  bigger  than  the  first  one  — and  so  on,  until 
l make  them  all.  You  can  then  put  the  largest  one  down  first,  and 
the  next  smaller  one  down  on  that,  until  you  come  to  the  one  the  size 
of  our  house.  This  you  will  put  on  top  of  the  lot,  and  then  you  can 
see  how  many  times  larger  than  our  house  the  smallest  one  is,  and 
how  much  larger  the  biggest  is  than  the  smallest  house.  * 

“Well,  as  I was  telling  you  about  the  shoes,  1 must  tell  you,  too, 
that  they  had  old-fashioned  shoes  of  all  kinds,  and  some  wooden  shoes, 
made  long  ago.  But  one  of  the  queerest  things  there,  was  a machine  to 
make  lasts  with.  It  was  in  there,  I think.  Anyhow,  it  turned  shoe 
lasts  and  gun  stocks,  ox  yokes  and  wagon  spokes,  and  axe  handles, 
and  all  kinds  of  crooked  things.  It  was  first  made  by  a man  named 
Blanchard.  If  they  could  take  your  foot  off  and  put  it  into  the 
machine,  the  man  said  it  would  make  one  just  like  it,  out  of  wood  — 
corns,  crooked  toe-nails  and  all  — and  1 guess  it  would ; for  I saw  him 
put  in  a wooden  foot  with  lumps  all  over  it,  and  it  made  another  one 
just  like  it. 

“Now  I think  I’ve  told  you  enough  about  this  building,  and  I’ll  let 
Katie  tell  about  wliat  there  is  in  Machinery  Hall.” 

“ Me,  Willie?  why  I can’t  tell  about  machines!  It’s  a boy’s  place  to 
tell  about  them;  ain’t  it,  Benny?” 

“Well  yes,  1 guess  so.  Girls  don’t  know  much  about  machines  and 
swings.  If  they  have  nice  dolls  when  they  are  little,  and  nice  dresses 
when  they’re  big,  they  don’t  care  about  anything  else,  so  father  says.” 

“ 1 guess,  Benny,  if  your  father  had  heard  a lady  describe  a wonder- 
ful machine,  as  I did,  he  wouldn’t  have  said  that.  I stood  there,  and 
the  lady  walked  up  to  it  with  a man,  and  went  on  and  told  him  all 
about  it;  and  nobody  said  anything  to  her  till  she  started  to  go  away, 

* See  p.  31. 


11 


Uncle  Jo  Ini’s  Centennial  Story. 

when  a strange  gentleman  ayIio  had  been  listening  asked  her  if  she 
had  ever  seen  the  machine  before.  She  said  No,  and  went  away ; and 
then  the  man  who  had  the  machine  told  ns  that  she  was  the  very  first 
person  who  had  understood  it.  Now  1 think  Katie  can  do  as  well  as 
she  did.  Anyhow,  she  can  try.” 

“ No,  Willie ; you’ll  have  to  tell  us,  or  else  ask  Uncle  John  to  do 
it,  I know  if  1 had  gone  through  all  the  halls  with  you,  1 could  tell 
all  about  them ; for  when  I went  to  mill  with  Daniel,  last  summer,  1 
could  tell  everything  about  it.  There  were  the  millstones  and  the  eleva- 
tors, the  smut-machines  and  the  bolters  and  packers  and  bran -dusters ; 
and  there  was  the  saw-mill,  and  the  planing-macliine,  and  lots  of  other 
things,  besides  the  great  water-wheel  that  turned  them  all  round.  I 
told  father  about  them,  and  he  said  it  was  just  as  good  as  he  could 
do.” 

“Well,  Benny,  you  know  I’ve  been  to  that  saw-mill,  and  seen  all 
the  things  you  tell  about,  and  I thought  I knew  just  as  much  as 
anybody  else;  but  when  1 was  in  the  Machinery  Hall,  and  saw  all 
those  wheels  and  shafts  and  machines  spinning  round,  1 felt  as  if  1 
knew  nothing,  and  had  never  seen  machines  before ; for  it  looked  to 
me  as  if  the  mill  was  my  humming-top,  and  Machinery  Hall  was 
the  mill. 

“ But  here  comes  Papa.  Let’s  ask  him  to  tell  us  about  the  Hall. 
He  can  make  us  understand  it  tirst-rate. 

“Uncle  John,  won’t  you  tell  us  all  about  Machinery  Hall?  Mil- 
lie says  he  can’t  do  it,” 

“Willie  tells  the  truth,  Benny,  when  he  says  he  can’t  do  it;  and 
there  is  an  excellent  reason  why  he  cannot.  Machinery  Hall  and  its 
annexes  contain  the  wisdom  of  the  world  from  its  earliest  history,  so 
far  as  man  has  observed  the  operation  of  natural  laws,  and  applied 
them  to  profitable  uses.  In  it  are  gathered  together  and  exhibited,  all 
the  latest  and  best  ways  of  doing  everything.  The  wisest  man  in  the 
world  could’nt  go  through  that  Hall  and  understand  and  explain  all  its 
contents  to  you,  without  a Guide  for  each  class  of  things  in  it. 

“ Every  machine  is  made  on  some  theory  peculiar  to  itself,  or  its 
class.  When  I tell  you  that  the  cat,  the  lynx,  the  panther,  the  leopard, 
the  tiger  and  the  lion,  are  all  of  the  cat  kind , you  will  understand  what 
I mean  when  l speak  of  classes  of  machinery.  They  may  be  of  one 
kind  or  class  — like  the  cat  kind,  for  instance  — and  still  be  as  different 
as  the  animals  which  belong  to  the  cat  kind.  Now  there  are  hardly 


EASTERN  END  OF  MACHINERY  HALL. 


13 


Uncle  Joints  Centennial  Story. 

two  men  in  the  world  who  do  the  same  thing  in  the  same  way ; and 
therefore  they  do  very  much  as  children  do,  when  they  run  to  tlieir 
parents  to  have  them  decide  who,  or  what,  or  which  is  right  in  a dis- 
puted game  or  question.  So  these  people,  who  differ  so  much  in  tlieir 
notions  as  to  how  things  ought  to  be  done,  have  come  here  and  brought 
their  machines  and  contrivances,  to  show  the  world  their  way  of  doing 
them,  and  have  it  decided  whose  way  is  the  best,  the  quickest,  and 
the  cheapest. 

Out  of  this  world-wide  wish  to  be  thought  right,  and  to  have  the 
very  best  machine  for  doing  a particular  thing,  has  grown  this  great 
Exhibition.  If  it  were  not  for  the  desire  which  is  always  uppermost 
in  every  noble  breast,  to  do  something  to  be  proud  of,  the  world 
would  not  be  what  it  is  to-day.  We  should  have  none  of  the  conve- 
niences and  comforts  of  life,  and  might  still  be  living  like  savages 
in  the  forest,  and  eating  the  wild  fruits  of  the  earth.  But  should 
any  one  attempt  to  describe  singly  the  machines  and  processes  which 
produce  all  the  things  we  daily  need  and  use,  he  would  sit  down  to 
a task  that  would  last  him  a lifetime;  therefore  I shall  not  attempt 
to  tell  you  about  Machinery  Hall,  and  you  must  excuse  me  if  I only 
give  you  a glimpse  of  the  most  familiar  things  in  it. 

“ Now,  if  in  passing  among  the  whirring  shafts,  belts,  and  wheels 
which  everywhere  surround  us  in  this  vast  Hall  of  Moving  Wonders, 
I could  call  all  the  parts  of  the  machinery  and  its  operations  by  their 
proper  names,  and  you  could  understand  them,  it  would  be  very  easy 

for  me  to  do  so.  I once  wrote  a letter  to  a friend,  in  which  I described 

a new  machine.  1 used  only  forty  words  in  the  whole  letter,  and  yet 

he  understood  all  about  it.  I afterwards  described  if  in  a newspaper, 

for  people  who  do  not  understand  wliat  we  call  technical  terms , and  it 
took  a whole  column  to  explain  it;  and  even  then  there  were  hundreds 

of  men  who  read  it,  but  could  not  understand  it.  So,  you  see,  if  1 

should  attempt  to  describe  the  machinery  to  you,  I should  only  waste 
my  time.  However,  I will  try  to  give  you  something  of  an  idea  of  the 
great  Steam-Engine. 

“ Look  at  the  picture  of  Machinery  Hall,  and  in  the  middle  of  it, 
under  the  high  part,  is  the  great  Steam-engine  that  sets  all  the  main 
lines  of  Shafting  in  motion,  and  they  make  the  separate  machines  turn 

round.  This  Engine,  when  you  first  look  at  it,  reminds  you  of  a large 

letter  A.  On  the  top  of  it  is  a kind  of  a see-saw  — there  are  two  of 
them,  in  fact  — so  that,  when  one  goes  up,  the  other  goes  down.  They 


u 


Uncle  yohn's  Centennial  Story. 


'_y_z  — 


1 /I 

a 

;!? 

1 

, WM 

■M 

WWi 

i 

1 

ML 

feii'j 

m 

m 

Wi 

THE  GREAT  STEAM-ENGINE. 


call  it  a Beam  Engine. 
ways  through  which  run 


All  under  the  door  of  the  Hall  are  passage- 
great  shafts.  These  again  give  power  to  the 


shafting  on  the  ceiling,  through  the  eight  towers — one  at  each  sec- 
tion of  the  central,  or  high  part  of  the  building.  This  is  done  by  the 


15 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

great  leathern  belts  that  seem  to  spring  out  of  the  floor  to  the  shaft- 
ing. The  Boilers  that  make  steam  are  in  the  yard,  and  the  Steam- 
pipes  and  about  half  of  the  Engine  are  under  the  floor.  This  is  called 
a Low-pressure  Engine. 

“ Now,  I guess  you  won’t  care  to  have  me  tell  you  about  all  the 
different  kinds  of  Engines  which  we  saw  there  — Engines  of  all  sizes 
and  kinds,  from  the  great  one  I have  just  told  you  about,  to  one  so 
small  it  can  sit  on  a flve-cent  nickel  — so  it  will  be  useless  to  go  over 
them.  I really  can’t  see  how  I can  interest  you  in  the  machinery,  be- 
cause we  must  first  know  all  - about  a machine,  or  at  least  very  nearly 
so,  before  we  can  take  much  interest  in  it ; and  since  you  children 
know  so  little  about  machines,  I won’t  attempt  to  explain  any  of  them 
to  you,  but  will  only  say,  in  a general  way,  that  there  was  machinery 
there  for  all  known  purposes  for  which  it  can  be  used. 

“ Machinery  Hall  makes  a very  good  show,  and  is  well  worth  the 
whole  expense  of  a trip  to  see  it.  In  arranging  it,  they  did  just  as 
they  had  had  to  do  with  the  Main  Hall.  They  drew  a map  of  the  floor , 
and  then  set  apart  a certain  space  for  every  nation.  Then  this  was  di- 
vided up  into  smaller  spaces,  so  that  every  one  had  room  to  show  their 
things ; and  then  they  all  made  their  places  look  just  as  nice  as  they 
could.  Of  course,  they  had  Sewing-Machines,  and  Knitting-Machines,  and 
Printing-Presses,  and  many  other  machines  that  you  hear  talked  about, 
and  hundreds  that  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a name  for.  So  you  must 
be  satisfied  when  I tell  you  that  everybody  thinks  their  machine  is  the 
best,  and  will  always  think  so,  even  if  the  others  should  get  the 
Reward  of  Merit. 

“ Now  we  will  bid  good-bye  to  the  noise ; and  yet  I feel  as  if  I 
would  just  as  soon  as  not  tell  you  more  about  our  visit,  if  Willie  and 
Katie  say  so.” 

“Well,  Pa,  we  do  sav  so;  and  we  hope  you’ll  tell  them  about  the 
Grounds,  so  they  will  understand  the  view  from  the  High  Bank  east 
of  the  Schuylkill  river  perfectly.” 

“Well,  then,  when  we  passed  out  of  the  back  end  of  the  Machinery 
Hall,  we  came  across  a little  Steam  Railroad.  The  cars  had  just 
stopped,  and  in  we  all  got,  to  take  a ride.  It  was  like  a Fairy  car, 
and  it  took  us  all  over  the  Grounds,  about  three  miles  and  a half.  We 
passed  among  all  the  buildings,  and  all  the  way  it  looked  like  a fine 
city.  We  saw  only  two  houses  that  looked  alike,  and  those  were  the 


16  Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

Main  Hall  and  the  Machinery  Hall  — the  two  we  have  just  been  talk- 
ing about. 

“We  saw  many  queer-looking,  old-fashioned  buildings,  that  have 
been  built  to  show  what  kind  of  houses  people  used  to  live  in  a long 
time  ago.  The  English  have  built  three  of  the  kind  of  houses  which 
they  used  to  live  in  when  Elizabeth  was  Queen  of  England.  They  all 
have  little  bits  of  panes  of  glass  in  the  windows,  and  are  glazed  with 
wliat  they  call  a lead  sash.  One  of  them  has  a fire-place  in  every 
room,  and  the  roof  of  another  is  covered  with  red  tiles  made  of  clay, 
which  are  used  in  place  of  shingles.  The  houses  are  not  all  alike,  but 
are  made  to  show  the  different  kinds  used  at  that  time.  None  of 
them  are  so  good  as  the  houses  built  in  this  country  by  well-off 
people. 

“ Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  have  each  built  old-fashioned 
houses,  to  show  how  much  they  have  learned  about  house-building  in 
one  hundred  years. 

“ The  State  of  New  York  has  a very  nice  house,  and  so  have  many 
of  the  other  States. 

“ Ohio  has  built  its  house  out  of  stones  from  different  places  in  the 
State.  There  are  red,  and  yellow,  and  almost  white  stones  in  it.  Each 
of  the  window-frames  and  door-ways  is  of  a different  kind  and  color  of 
stone.  Each  layer  of  stone,  as  the  walls  are  built  up,  is  all  alike;  but 
the  layers  are  of  different  colors,  except  in  the  tower,  which  is  all  of 
one  color. 

“New  Jersey  has  a very  pretty  house.  It  is  covered  all  over  with 
peach-colored  tiles,  with  black  tile  ornaments  in  the  tower,  and  makes  a 
very  showy  appearance. 

“ Some  of  the  houses  built  by  the  States  look  like  temples,  and  some 
like  barns;  but  they  are  all  used  for  showing  what  they  can  grow  on 
their  farms,  or  what  they  are  doing  in  their  schools.  At  least  half  of 
them  are  little  State  Fairs. 

“Spain  has  built  a little  six-square,  one-story  house;  and  alongside 
of  it  Chili  has  put  up  a small  pavilion,  like  a summer-house. 

“ Just  in  this  part  of  the  grounds,  Japan  has  built  a house.  It  was 
all  made  in  Japan,  and  then  packed  up  in  paper  and  matting,  and 
brought  here.  The  Japanese  workmen  came  with  it,  to  put  it  up;  and 
while  they  were  doing  it  they  were  visited  and  watched  by  hundreds  of 
people  every  day.  Although  they  are  the  oldest  nation  of  people  which 


17 


Uncle  Johns  Centennial  Story. 


attend  the  Fair,  they  are  very  simple  in  their  way  of  living  and  dress,  and 
very  odd  in  all  their  ways  of  doing  their  work.  Here  is  a picture  of 
their  pretty  house. 


SOUTHERN  FRONT  OF  JAPANESE  HOUSE. 


“You  see  that  it  is  an  odd-looking  hen-coop;  but  it  has  the  merit 
of  being  very  well  built.  The  roof  is  made  of  a bluish  tile,  and  pointed 
up  with  white  cement  all  around  the  edges.  This  makes  the  roof  look  like 
a picture-frame.  All  the  joints  in  the  work  are  good,  and  they  have  a 
way  of  nailing  up  everything  so  as  not  to  show  the  nail-heads.  Over  the 
door  are  some  birds  and  dragons,  beautifully  carved  in  wood.  A sports- 
man has  wounded  a young  bird,  and,  as  it  falls,  the  old  mother-bird  is 
flying  down  to  catch  it.  Above  this  there  is  another  bird  that  looks  like 
a dove,  flying  straight  down  to  the  ground,  as  if  to  help  the  wounded  bird. 
I do  not  know  exactly  what  it  is  meant  to  show  us.  It.  is  what  is  called 
allegorical — that  is,  it  tells  some  of  their  old,  and,  to  them,  well-known 
stories. 


18 


Uncle  Joints  Centennial  Story. 

“ A little  way  from  here  is  the  great  Marble  Fountain.  This  was  built 
by  the  Sons  of  Temperance  belonging  to  the  Catholic  churches,  and  cost 
them  a large  sum  of  money.  There  is  a good  picture  of  it  on  the  next  page. 

“In  the  centre,  on  the  pile  of  rock,  stands  Moses;  and  the  water  is 
pouring  from  the  rock  which  was  dry  before  he  smote  it  with  his  rod, 
as  the  Lord  had  told  him  to  do.  On  the  four  corners  stand  statues  of 
Father  Matthew,  Charles  Carroll,  Commodore  Barry,  and  Archbishop 
Carroll,  and  out  of  the  block  on  which  each  of  them  stands,  four  streams 
of  water  flow  out  of  the  months  of  lions  into  marble  basins — making  in  all 
sixteen  drinking  fountains. 

“ On  these  grounds  all  around  ns  are  private  buildings  for  showing 
private  goods.  Year  by  the  Fountain  are  two  for  showing  stoves,  and 
another  for  printing  this  book  ;*  and  a little  way  back  of  that,  one  for 
making  glass;  and  so  on  all  around. 

“ We  will  now  go  to  the  Agricultural  Hall,  and  see  what  they  have 
in  that. 


NORTH  FRONT  OF  AGRICULTURAL  HALL. 

As  seen  from  the  Park  Drive  on  George's  Hill.  This  Hall  is  5h0  x 800 feet , of  an  irregular  ground-plan , covering  an  area  of  about  10  acres. 

“Yon  will  see  by  the  picture  that  it  is  not  like  the  other  buildings, 
and  only  half  as  large  as  the  Main  Hall.  It  is  big  enough,  however,  to 
cover  a good-sized  garden  farm. 


* See  page  27. 


THE  GREAT  MARBLE  FOUNTAIN 


20 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

“ You  know  what  agricultural  means,  l suppose.  It  means  farming , 
or  that  which  belongs  to  it ; so  that  you  will  easily  understand  what  you 
see  in  this  Hall.  But  Willie  and  Katie  had  better  tell  you  what  they 
can  about  it,  because  I have  no  time  to  stay  any  longer;  but  1 will  return.” 

Uncle  John  told  us  about  some  of  the  houses,  but  jumped  away  over 
to  Agricultural  Hall  without  saying  a word  about  the  Ladies’  Pavilion, 
as  they  call  it,”  said  Benny. 


till!  I 

iRf 

•Sji  [Ef  ffSSisi 

■gas 

fuyglp 

gplp 

PPP! 

ART  GALLERY,  OR  MEMORIAL  HALL. 


Taken  from  the  south-east , and  shouting  the  Front  next  to  Main  Hall.  It  is  360  x 310  feet , covering  one  and  one-half  acres. 
The  whole  height  to  the  top  of  the  figure  of  Columbia  is  about  175  feet. 


“That  house,”  said  Willie,  “was  built  by  the  women  of  America,  to 
show  what  they  can  do  to  help  build  up  a country.  Once  we  were  in 

a Building  where  everything  was  so  nice,  and  all  who  went  there 

were  so  well  pleased,  that  I listened  to  find  out  about  it.  Then  I heard 
a man  say,  ‘How  did  you  dare  to  try  to  get  all  this  ready,  when  yon 

had  such  a short  time?’  Now  what  do  you  think  he  said?  He  just 

said,  ‘ My  wife  helped  me , by  her  cheerfulness  and  kind  words  of  encour- 
agement.’' And  so  I just  thought  how  much  work  there  is  in  this  great 
Fair  that  never  would  have  been  done,  if  it  had  not  been  for  some- 
body’s mother  or  daughter.  The  Woman’s  Pavilion  would  not  hold 
half  of  it,  if  each  part  of  it  was  put  just  where  it  belonged;  and,  as 


21 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

I thought  about  it,  I looked  around  to  see  if  this  was  the  place  where 
the  Woman’s  Righters  put  all  their  things;  but  I didn’t  see  anything: 
so  I just  asked  a lady  that  belonged  there  about  it,  and  she  said,  1 Boy, 
(jo  '’long ! ’ She  didn’t  say  it  nice;  so  I thought  I wouldn’t  ask  anymore 
questions,  but  go  right  on  about  my  looking. 

“This  Pavilion  is  one  story  high,  and  shaped  like  a cross;  and  it  is 
full  of  all  kinds  of  things  that  women  make  — crochet,  and  tatting,  and 
embroidery,  and  needle-work,  and  worsted-work,  and  books,  and  pictures, 
and  many  other  things.  Some  are  in  glass  cases,  and  some  hang  on  the 

walls;  but  it  looks  real  nice,  and  a great  many  people  go  in  and  out 

in  a day. 

“ Around  this  part  of  the  Fair  ground  are  a great  many  places  in  which 
to  get  something  to  eat.  They  call  them  Restaurants.  Thousands  get 
their  dinners  there  every  day.  There  is  one  so  large  that,  five  thousand 
people  can  sit  down  to  the  table  at  once,  and  all  get  waited  on  in  a 

short  time.  I was  told  this ; but  l can’t  see  how  so  many  could  sit 

down  at  one  table.  They  are  called  the  German,  and  Southern,  and 
Yankee,  and  French  restaurants ; and  there  are  a good  many  others 
which  I don’t  remember. 

“Among  the  restaurants  there  is  one  house  built  like  the  first  houses 
are  built  by  the  first  people  who  go  into  a new  country.  It  is  built  of 
round  logs  with  the  bark  of  the  tree  still  on  them.  This  is  in  the  woods, 
like;  and  along  down  by  it  there  runs  a little  brook,  across  which  are 
some  high  bridges  for  the  people  to  walk  over,  which  makes  the  grounds 
look  very  pretty  about  there.” 

“ But  there  comes  Uncle  John ! Uncle  John,  do  tell  us  about  Agri- 
cultural Hall  now,  will  you  ? ” 

“Why  yes,  I will,  if  you  are  not  satisfied  yet,” 

“ Oh,  we  have  been  running  around  the  grounds  looking  for  you,  and 
waiting  for  you  to  come  back  again.” 

“Well,  then,  I’ 11  tell  you  what  I can. 

“In  the  first  place,  the  Hall  lias  ten  acres  in  it.  Remember  that  is  just 
the  size  of  this  Hall.  In  this  building  we  can  see  all  the  different  pro- 
ducts of  the  earth,  and  all  kinds  of  machines  to  take  care  of  them  with, 
as  well  as  to  plant  them.  Of  course  I can’t  begin  to  tell  you  what  each 
one  is  for,  or  who  has  sent  it  here ; nor  could  you  understand  me  if  1 
should  try  to  explain  them : for  you  must  bear  in  mind  that  improve- 
ment in  the  things  that  grow  is  very  slow,  and  man  must  wait  on  the 


99 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 


summer  and  winter  to  tell  if 
lie  is  right  or  wrong  about  them; 
but  the  tools  with  which  the  farm 
is  worked,  and  the  grain  harvested 
and  prepared  for  market,  are  changed 
daily.  Laborers  have  been  so  hard  to  get  when 
they  were  wanted  the  most,  that,  to  keep  from 
losing  what  had  been  raised,  all  kinds  of  labor-saving  tools  and  machines 
have  been  made,  and  are  now  brought  here  to  lie  tried  and  tested,  to 
see  which  best  deserves  the  Reward  of  Merit.  It  is  thought  that  it 
will  be  worth  a good  deal  of  money  to  the  one  who  receives  it;  and 
therefore  there  will  be  much  jealousy  among  all  the  exhibitors,  until 
this  reward  has  been  given  out  by  the  judges.  It  will  not  be  a great 
medal,  having  no  other  meaning  than  that  the  winner  of  it  was  an  Exhib- 
itor at  the  Fair;  but  along  with  it  there  will  be  a Certificate,  giving  a 
complete  description  of  whatever  its  owner  may  have  exhibited  for  com- 
petition, and  setting  forth  all  the  merits  of  the  Exhibit. 

“ The  Commissioners  think  they  have  a wise  set  of  men  as  judges.  They 
are  chosen  from  nearly  all  the  different  nations  represented  at  the  Fair,  and 
it  is  expected  that,  as  a general  thing,  their  Awards  will  be  satisfactory. 


HORTICULTURAL  HALL. 

383  feet  long , by  193  feet  wide , and  72 feet  high. 


23 


Uncle  Johns  Centennial  Story . 

“ Now,  my  children,  I will  try  to  tell  you  about  the  Horticultural 
and  the  Memorial  Halls,  the  pictures  of  which  you  will  see  on  the 
twentieth  and  twenty-second  pages. 

“ Both  of  these  places  are  tilled  with  objects  that  have  no  value, 
except  the  pleasure  they  can  give  those  who  see  them.  We  should  not 
have  them  to  look  at,  if  it  were  not  that  the  people  have  spare  money  to 
buy  such  things  with.  They  are  what  we  call  the  luxuries  of  life.  We 
often  buy  things  we  do  not  want,  because  we  think  they  are  pretty,  and 
that  is  enough;  and  just  as  soon  as  the  owner  sells  them  to  us,  he 
makes  two  more  just  like  them  — one  for  our  neighbor  whom  he  thinks 
will  envy  us,  and  covet  the  new  thing,  and  another  for  some  other  man 
who  has  got  more  money  than  he  has  use  for  at  once.  And  so  they 
have  kept  on  doing,  until  all  over  the  world  there  are  hundreds  of 
Libraries,  Conservatories,  and  Galleries  tilled  with  works  of  art. 

“Not  only  so,  but  the  subjects  for  painting  and  sculpture  are  very 
scarce.  If  we  stop  and  think  over  all  the  people  and  objects  worthy  of 
the  sculptor’s  skill  or  the  painter’s  pencil,  there  could  not  enough  of 
them  be  found  to  keep  a dozen  artists  at  work ; but  there  are  hundreds 
who  get  a living  by  sculpturing  and  painting  fables , or  imaginary  peo- 
ple, things,  and  places ; and  these  are  the  pictures  and  sculptures  that 
I am  to  tell  you  about,  and  help  you  to  understand. 

“ A great  many  of  these  subjects  are  taken  from  heathen  worship,  and 
never  had  any  existence ; and  a great  many  are  from  the  fancies  of 
poets  and  painters.  There  is,  perhaps,  one  in  a dozen  that  can  lie 
traced  back  to  a real  being;  but  how  near  it  looks  like  that  being,  no 
mortal  can  tell.  If  you  had  two  or  three  dolls  that  were  ever  so  homely, 
you  could  tell  which  was  the  best-looking  doll ; but  if  you  had  only  one, 
you  would  call  it  homely.  You  would  never  think  of  calling  it  hand- 
some, because  you  could  not  compare  it  with  another.  So,  you  see, 
when  1 look  at  those  pictures  and  sculptures,  I cannot  tell  their  real 
merit;  but  I can  sav  that  they  please  me,  on  account  of  their  color 
or  form,  or  because  the  subject  is  one  that  1 have  often  heard  of,  but 
have  never  seen  before ; and  so  1 am  pleased  generally  with  all  that 
I see.  But  when  it  comes  to  the  real  merit  of  any  work  of  art,  it  can 
only  be  determined  by  comparing  it  with  the  original.  And  since 
this  is  impossible,  because  there  has  never  been  any  original  except 
in  the  fancy  of  some  one,  it  will  not  be  any  part  of  mv  story  to  tell 
you  how  well  anything  has  been  done:  so  you  must  excuse  all  of  my 


24  Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story . 

big  words,  and  let  me  tell  you  wliat  you  can  really  understand  about 
these  two  Halls. 

“ In  the  first  place,  both  of  these  Halls  are  expected  to  remain,  and 
to  be  used  by  the  city  after  the  Exhibition  is  closed.  In  the  Horticul- 
tural Hall  will  be  gathered  all  the  odd,  rare,  and  beautiful  plants,  fruits 
and  flowers  — the  wonders  of  the  forest  and  the  jungle,  the  field  and 
the  garden.  This  is  just  what  is  in  it  now.  The  Hall  has  over  an 
acre  of  ground  in  it;  and  this  is  all  filled  by  the  plant,  fruit  and 
flower  families.  It  is  built  like  any  other  good  conservatory,  only  it  is 
much  larger.  The  inside  is  built  up  in  arches  of  white,  red,  and  very 
dark  blue  bricks.  The  arches  are  called  Moorish,  The  roof  is  glass, 
and  the  frame  is  made  of  iron.  The  whole  upper  portion  is  beautifully 
painted.  I think  it  is  a very  fine  building,  and  I was  highly  delighted 
with  all  1 saw  there. 

“ The  picture  of  Memorial  Hall,  on  page  20,  shows  yon  that  it  is  a very 
different  kind  of  a building  from  the  one  I have  just  told  you  about.  It  is 
built  of  granite.  The  eagles  and  statues  on  the  top  are  made  of  zinc. 
The  purpose  of  this  Hall  is  to  preserve  the  memorial  objects  of  States  and 
Cities.  When  the  Fair  is  over,  it  will  be  like  Katie’s  and  Carrie’s  keep- 
sake boxes  — Idled  with  things  of  great  value  to  them,  but  not  worth 
a cent  to  sell.  But  while  the  Exhibition  lasts,  this,  with  another 
Hall  as  large  as  it  is,  will  be  filled  with  the  finest  works  of  art. 

“ Now,  if  I have  used  big  words,  I cannot  help  it,  and  you  will 
have  to  find  out  what  they  mean.  I shall  let  Will  and  Katie  tell  you 
of  the  wonders  they  have  seen.  I have  told  you  about  the  Halls ; but 
children  can  do  better  in  telling  of  the  things  that  please  little  chil- 
dren.” 

“Now,  Uncle  John  has  spoiled  my  story!  / was  going  to  tell  you 
all  about  those  Halls,”  said  Katie.  “ But  I can  tell  yon  all  about  the 
flowers  and  plants. 

“ Well,  when  we  went  in  at  the  side  where  the  flowers  are,  it  was 
crowded  with  ladies,  and  they  said  it  was  beautiful!  After  listening 
a little  while,  I found  that  each  lady  had  something  at  home  like  what 
they  saw  there ; but  when  I looked  down  the  passage  between  the 
rows  of  plants,  1 thought  I had  never  seen  anything  so  splendid ! There 
were  orange  and  lemon  trees,  with  the  oranges  and  lemons  growing 


25 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

on  them;  and  there  were  other  fruits  that  I did  not  know  the  name  of; 
and  there  were  great  plants,  with  leaves  like  fans — some  of  them  as 
high  as  Pa’s  head ! There  were  four  of  these  long  halls,  like,  and  in 
them  were  what  they  call  tropical  plants — that  is,  plants  that  have  come 
from  hot  countries,  and  have  to  be  kept  under  glass,  so  they  won’t 
freeze  in  cold  weather.  The  whole  door  was  just  like  a great  garden 
dlled  with  dowers  and  plants  with  beautifully  colored  leaves.  I could 
have  stayed  all  day,  and  looked  at  them,  but  I had  to  go  with  Pa  and 
Willie. 

“After  we  went  out,  we  crossed  over  a high  bridge  — so  high  up 
that  we  were  among  the  limbs  of  the  trees.  This  bridge  was  over  a 
little  brook  which  runs  through  the  Grounds,  and  looked  nice  and 
cool  away  down  among  the  people  who  dlled  the  walks  and  seats. 

“ When  we  got  over  this  bridge,  we  saw  a large,  square  house,  not 
very  high,  but  without  any  windows.  On  the  top  of  it  were  a good 
many  little  houses,  all  with  glass  sides.  We  went  around  to  the  front, 
and  found  it  was  a Picture  Gallery,  full  of  all  sorts  of  people  who 
were  looking,  and  pointing,  and  talking,  and  reading  in  little  books 
which  I soon  found  out  were  Guides , to  tell  where  each  picture  came 
from,  who  painted  it,  and  what  it  was  about.  Pa  bought  one,  and 
then  we  began  to  read  and  look  just  like  the  other  people;  and  when 
we  came  out,  I think  we  were  all  just  alike.  And,  do  you  know,  l 

thought  of  the  fun  we  used  to  have  at  home,  when  we  would  all  make 

a pig  on  the  slate,  with  our  eyes  shut,  and  Pa  would  write  under  each 
one — Katie's  pig , Carrie’s  pig , Bennie's  pig , and  Willie's  pig — and  then 
under  the  one  he  made,  Pa's  pig ; and  none  of  them  looked  the  least 

bit  like  a pig ! But  it  was  real  fun ! And  that’s  the  way  the  little 

book  read.  There  were  ever  so  many  pictures  almost  alike;  and  the 
book  said,  St.  Peter , by  Morrison;  and  St.  Peter , by  Johnson;  just  as  if 
there  was  ever  so  many  St.  Peters!  1 said  it  was  like  our  pigs  on  the 
slate  ; and  Pa  told  me  to  hush,  for  people  would  hear  me. 

“ Then  there  were  ever  so  many  holes  cut  through  the  walls,  and 
gilt  frames  put  up  like  windows ; and  somehow  or  other  I could  see 
away  up  in  the  mountains  through  some  of  them,  and  down  by  the 
rivers  through  others,  and  some  of  them  had  real  people  in  them.  Pa 
said  they  were  only  painted,  but  I don’t  know  how  it  could  be. 


26 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

“Then  we  went  into  Memorial  Hall;  and  this  had  pictures,  and 
marble  and  bronze  statues  all  over  it,  and  a great  crowd  of  people  tilled 
every  nook  and  corner  of  it.  But  when  I had  got  out  of  the  passage- 
way into  what  they  called  the  Dome  — a great,  high  room  without 
any  light,  except  from  the  top  — there  I stood  still,  and  looked  for 
ever  so  long,  and  you  don’t  know  how  funny  I felt;  and  then  tears 
came  into  my  eyes,  and  just  ran  down  my  cheeks  of  themselves,  and 
1 didn’t  care  one  bit  who  saw  them. 

There  was  a beautiful  lady  standing  close  by  me,  and  she  said  to  the 
gentleman  who  was  with  her : ‘ See  what  a tribute  of  praise  this  inno- 
cent child  pays  to  our  honored  artists ! How  many  years  of  toil  would 
these  simple  tears  repay  to  many  of  those  whose  works  adorn  these  walls, 
could  they  but  see  them ! They  never  had  such  a reward  for  their  labor 
during  their  lives ; and,  after  years  of  trial  and  of  toil,  many  of  them  have 
sunk  into  unknown  graves.  1 have  often  thought  that  this  seeming 
neglect  of  their  merits  has  been  because  they  have  painted  for  the  future ; 
and  I feel,  when  1 walk  these  galleries,  that  1 am  in  the  presence  of  the 
work  of  inspired  hands ; for  how  else  could  they  reach  forward  so  many 
generations,  and  stir  the  tender  feelings  of  a little  child  like  this?  And 
yet  the  artists  of  to-day  are  as  much  neglected  as  were  those  of  the  past, 
in  their  day.’ 

“After  this  lady  went  away,  I wondered  what  she  meant,  but  I thought 
about  it  afterwards;  and  it  must  be  that  artists  are  treated  just  like 
other  people;  for  1 know  Pa  never  says,  There , Katie , that's  a good  girl! 
when  1 get  a good  lesson,  or  do  anything  that  is  hard.  It  must  be  that 
they  don’t  think  about  it  until  they  are  gone  away,  or  are  dead.  I know 
that  after  Mrs.  Jones  died,  everybody  remembered  something  good  that 
she  had  done  for  some  one  else ; but  they  forgot  to  say  anything  about  it 
before  she  died ! 

“ Oh ! I forgot  that  I was  telling  you  about  the  pictures  and  statues, 
and  how  lovely  they  were.  I would  try  to  tell  you  all  about  them; 
but  I don’t  see  how  l can,  for  even  when  I was  looking  at  them,  1 
didn’t  understand  them.  All  I knew  was  that  they  looked  as  if 
everything  was  real,  and  not  paintings  and  marble.  Pa,  won’t  you 
tell  them?  1 can’t  tell  any  more.” 

“1  think  you  have  done  very  well,  Katie;  and  1 will  now  answer 
Benny’s  question.  He  has  asked  what  all  this  fuss  was  about,  this 
particular  year;  and  I suppose  1 shall  have  to  tell  you. 


CAMPBELL'S  PRINTING  PRESS  BUILDING  — 144  x 88  FEET. 

Built  by  the  Campbell  Printing  Press  & Manuf.  Co. 


28 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

“This  is  called  the  Centennial  Year,  because  it  is  just  one  hundred 
years,  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1876,  since  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Now  1 shall  have  to  tell  you  what  that  means ; and,  to  make  it 
plain  to  you,  I shall  have  to  ask  you  all  to  be  very  still  and  attentive. 

“ When  this  country  was  first  settled,  it  was  by  different  nations. 
There  were  some  from  England,  and  some  from  Holland,  and  other 
countries;  but  they  were  all  living  a great  way  from  each  other,  like 
lai  *ge  families  apart.  Their  numbers  increased  every  year,  until  each 
family  made  a large  town.  At  last  they  all  came  together  into  one 
large  family,  and  called  England  the  Mother  Country.  They  were  not 
obliged  to  do  this.  It  was  done  of  their  own  accord.  There  was  a 
kind  of  a promise  to  stick  close  together.  This  was  mostly  to  keep 
the  Indians  from  killing  them  all.  They  joined  together,  and  sent 
soldiers  to  keep  the  savages  away  from  their  farms  and  their  homes. 
After  a while,  when  they  had  grown  to  be  such  large  families,  England 
sent  men  to  be  Governors  of  the  Colonies,  as  they  then  called  them. 
There  were  thirteen  of  them,  in  all. 

“Now  it  happened  that  some  of  these  Governors  had  laws  made 
in  England  for  the  colonists  to  go  by,  in  buying  and  selling  things. 
They  wanted  them  to  help  pay  the  cost  of  keeping  the  King  and  his 
family  in  England.  But  our  grandfathers  would  not  pay  anything;  and 
the  King  tried  to  make  them;  but  they  would  not  pay  one  cent.  Then 
they  sent  soldiers  over  here,  to  make  them  pay.  This  made  our  grand- 
fathers very  angry ; and  they  all  came  to  Philadelphia  and  had  what 
they  called  a Congress.  All  the  Colonies  — thirteen  of  them  — agreed  to 
do  just  as  this  meeting  should  say.  Well,  after  they  had  talked  about 
it  a good  many  days,  they  agreed  to  write  a letter  to  the  King  of 
England,  and  tell  him  they  were  going  to  keep  house  for  themselves, 
and  that  he  must  take  his  soldiers  home,  or  they  would  make  them  go. 

“ In  this  letter  they  told  him  how  badly  he  had  treated  them,  and 
that  they  would  not  have  anything  to  do  with  him  any  more,  except 
as  a stranger.  This  letter  was  signed  by  all  the  people  at  the  meet- 
ing, on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1776;  and  they  called  it  The  Declaration 
of  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America.  So  you  see  it  will 
be  one  hundred  years,  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1876,  since  this  was 
done.  This  is  called  a century;  and  out  of  this  conies  the  word  cen- 
tennial. 

“Now  I hope  I have  made  it  plain  to  you  why  we  ‘make  such  a 


29 


Uncle  John’s  Centennial  Story. 

fuss/  as  Benny  says,  ‘on  this  particular  year.’  But  this  does  not  tell 
why  we  should  also  have  a Fair. 

“ When  our  grandfathers  had  sent  this  letter  to  the  King,  he  was 
very  angry,  and  sent  a great  many  hundred  soldiers,  to  try  to  make 
us  break  up  housekeeping.  But  after  many  years  of  hard  lighting  and 
great  suffering,  the  King  was  obliged  to  take  his  soldiers  home,  and  let 
us  go  to  keeping  house  on  our  own  account.  Well,  it  was  very  hard 
work  at  first.  Many  of  our  dishes  were  broken,  and  our  pots  had  been 
cracked;  our  clothes  were  worn  out,  and  almost  everything  we  had  was 
spoiled,  or  stolen  by  these  soldiers.  But  our  good  grandfathers  had 
been  so  long  without  good  clothes  or  housekeeping  things,  that  they 
learned  how  to  get  along  without  them,  until  they  could  make  them 
themselves.  And  so  year  after  year  they  kept  on  making  all  kinds 
of  things,  until  they  got  to  be  very  proud  of  them,  and  thought  they 
would  like  to  bring  them  all  together,  and  invite  the  people  from  all 
over  the  world  to  come  and  see  what  they  had  done  in  one  hundred 
years.  And  they  told  them  to  bring  their  best  things , and  see  if  we 
could  not  make  just  as  good  things  as  they  could ; although  some  of 
the  nations  who  have  brought  things  are  a good  many  hundred  years 
older  than  we  are. 

“ Now,  my  children,  you  must  not  forget  that  nearly  all  the  nice 
things  we  have  in  our  houses  for  pleasure  and  comfort  are  new.  You 
can  see  that  1 am  not  a very  old  man;  but  I can  remember  when 
there  were  no  steamboats,  nor  railroads,  nor  telegraphs,  nor  cook-stoves, 
nor  sewing-machines,  nor  friction-matches,  nor  a great  many  other  things. 
So  you  must  not  find  any  fault,  if  we  should  be  like  little  children, 
proud  over  all  our  nice  things  in  the  Fair. 

“ I don't  know  that  there  is  much  more  to  say  about  this  Centen- 
nial, unless  we  go  into  all  the  particulars;  and  then  it  would  be  a 
very  tiresome  story.  When  ten  years  have  gone  by — if  you  should  live 
so  long  — it  will  then  be  a good  time  to  read  about  the  Centennial  Ex- 
hibition, and  what  was  in  it,  and  the  lessons  it  teaches.  This,  you 
must  remember,  will  be  a year  that  will  form  a fixed  point  of  time 
from  which  to  count  events  for  many  years,  or  perhaps  centuries  of 
years,  to  come.  The  history  of  nations  is  of  daily  growth,  like  plants. 
We  cannot  tell  anything  about  their  future;  but  I hope  our  people 
may  enjoy,  for  many  long  years  to  come,  the  same  peace  which  marks 
1876  as  a memorable  period  in  the  history  of  the  world.” 


30 


Uncle  John's  Centennial  Story. 

“Uncle  John,”  said  Willie,  “we  are  all  very  glad  that  you  have  had 
so  much  patience  with  us,  and  told  us  so  many  things  about  this  Fair. 
1 know  my  lessons  will  be  easier  to  learn,  and  1 can  tell  the  boys  and 
girls  in  our  class  almost  anything  they  ask  me,  except  one  thing,  and 
that  is  a puzzle;  for  when  Uncle  John  says  lie  does  not  know  what 
anything  is,  then  it  must  be  a big  puzzle.” 

“Why,  what  is  it,  Willie,  that  is  such  a puzzle  to  }rou  ? 1 thought 

1 answered  all  your  questions.” 

“ Oh  no,  Uncle  John  ! Don’t  you  remember  when  we  were  all  upset 
in  the  cars,  because  they  stopped  so  suddenly,  and  everybody  asked  what 
was  the  matter,  and  nobody  could  tell  — not  even  Uncle  John?” 

“Ah,  Willie,  that  is  now  a very  simple  thing.  People  in  railroad 
cars  always  have  a fear  that  something  will  happen  to  them,  and,  as 
they  ride  along,  every  little  thing  frightens  them,  and  keeps  them  con- 
stantly uneasy.  To  prevent  this,  there  have  been  hundreds  (1  might  say) 
of  different  contrivances  made,  and  almost  every  great  Fair  brings  them 
together;  but  up  to  this  time  none  of  them  seemed  to  meet  every 
difficulty. 

“ When  this  Centennial  Exhibition  was  first  talked  of,  one  of  the 
greatest  puzzles  was  not  only  how  to  get  the  people  to  it  and  take  them 
home  again  without  killing  or  maiming  a great  many  of  them,  but  how 
to  get  rid  of  this  uneasiness,  and  to  give  them  assurance  that  they  would 
not  be  injured  while  traveling.  Now,  as  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  had 
a greater  interest  in  this  matter  than  any  other  Company,  they  con- 
structed and  put  into  operation  what  they  call  a Block-Signal — that  is, 
at  irregular  distances  from  each  other,  are  stations  for  watchmen  who 
have  charge  of  signals  to  stop  the  trains,  and  keep  them  at  a safe  and  proper 
distance  apart.  They  are  so  arranged  that  if  all  the  watchmen  on  all 
their  roads  were  killed  instantly,  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  two 
trains  to  run  into  each  other.  Every  train  would  stop  at  the  sigual- 
station,  just  as  ours  did.  In  this  case,  1 afterwards  learned  that  the 
watchman  fell  in  a fit,  and  let  go  of  the  danger-signal  just  as  the  train 
came  up  to  it.  After  waiting  awhile,  they  went  into  the  station  and 
found  him  lying  there  insensible.  The  conductor  telegraphed  to  the  next 
Block-Station,  and  found  all  right.  We  then  went  on  as  usual. 

“Now,  you  must  not  jump  at  conclusions,  and  say  that  the  officers 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  are  a very  humane  set  of  people.  It  is  not 
that — it  is  selfishness.  To  establish  confidence  in  their  roads,  they 


31 


Uncle  Joints  Centennial  Story. 

must  not  hurt  anybody.  The  Managers  are  like  other  men,  and  do  not 
like  to  pay  damages,  or  destroy  their  property  by  collisions ; and  therefore, 
over  the  whole  of  their  roads  appear  these  Block-Signals,  which  make 
traveling  just  as  safe  as  if  the  engineer’s  eyes  were  able  to  see  the  whole 
length  of  all  their  roads  — to  see  as  well  around  the  curves  as  if  they  were 
perfectly  straight — and  to  do  this  as  certainly  in  the  darkness  as  in  the 
broad  daylight. 

“Now,  let  us  come  to  a close;  and,  if  you  will  wait  patiently,  I will 
tell  you  all  about  these  things  in  my  next  visit,” 


Comparative  Sizes  of  Buildings,  Referred  to  on  Page  10. 


ART  GALLERY  and  HORTICULTURAL  HALL-Ono  and  a-half  Acres. 


AGRICULTURAL  11  ALL — lO  Acres 


Size  0r  MACHINERY  HALL-14  Acre 


Sizo  of  MAIN  HALL— Tw»mr-ono  and  ono-half  Acres. 


KM 


PRINTED 


EX  Ml  81  T!0  N;lTO  If#  I NG 


I ss  t — i»» 


CHILDREN  AND  YOUNG  PEOPLE 


CENTENNIAL  EXHIBITION 


BLAEW"  100  an  Hour: 


1876.  ROTARY,  20.000  an  Hour 


i 


